On September 15, the Department of Education announced it will be giving grants to two HBCUs that have been the subject of bomb threats this year. Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS will receive $420,000 in Project School Emergency Response to Violence, while Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, NC will be granted $80,000.
“As Secretary of Education, I want to make it abundantly clear that the Biden-Harris administration will not tolerate bomb threats or any efforts to terrorize students of color and everyone who lives, works, and studies at our Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, as reported by The Hill.
The grants are being given to support student trauma recovery programs, expand mental health support and add security officers on campus. The Department of Education said it will be announcing more grants, according to a press release and as reported by the news outlet. Last month, $133,000 in grant money was given to the Southern Law University Law Center.
“The bomb threats made against HBCUs earlier this year not only strained institutions’ resources by prompting costly campus lockdowns, class cancellations, and law enforcement activities, but shattered students’ sense of safety and heightened anxiety throughout these campus communities,” added Cardona.
In 2022, 101 HBCUs were the target of bomb threats, according to the Department of Education. The Biden administration has launched investigations but no arrests have been made so far, reports The Hill.
In April, fraternity and sorority sites at Howard University were defaced, Girls United previously reported. It was only one of many threats made against the HBCU.
“We will continue to work with our partners across the administration—using a whole-of-government approach—to make sure HBCU leaders have access to all available federal resources to respond to threats of violence, shore up campus security, expand their infrastructure and capacity, and provide students with the safe and nurturing learning environments that HBCUs are known for,” said Cardona.
About Kyra: Kyra Alessandrini is a news writer at Girls United and a freelance journalist. Her work has appeared in publications such as Time, The Hollywood Reporter, InStyle, and Elle. Born in New York and raised in Paris, France, she is passionate about culture, street photography, and travel.